Sancta Maria Abbey, Nunraw, Haddington

Sancta Maria Abbey, Nunraw, Haddington

Designed by architect Peter Whiston in 1952, Sancta Maria Abbey is a large monastery complex built for the Cistercian order between 1952 and 1969 with the help of resident monks. The site comprises a substantial cloister range incorporating a chapel, linking refectory and workshop wings, and a separate garage and workshop block to the southeast. Two huts to the southeast are excluded from the listing.

The cloister is a two-storey U-plan pitched roof range of buildings with an integral single-storey flat-roofed block forming an enclosed quadrant cloister garth. The southwest range extends slightly outwards from the square plan at its gable ends and houses the library. The northeast side is formed by a flat-roofed section originally planned for a two-storey church that was never built. The northwest range houses the chapel, known as the 'temporary church'. The cloister windows have shallow pointed arches, while windows on the external elevations are rectangular and vary in size, with large multi-pane glazed sections to the library, over the main staircase in the west elevation and at the south corner stair. Three cantilevered concrete balconies with metal railings project from the external southeast elevation.

A two-storey pitched-roofed refectory wing extends from the complex, featuring a prominent chimney with an angled stack and tablet-style cowl. Lowered eaves extend from the south corner of the cloister. A flat-roofed single-storey wing linked to the southeast corner of the refectory houses the laundry and workshops.

A rectangular-plan flat-roofed garage and workshop block, dating to the mid-1960s, stands to the southeast. It is mostly rendered with large glazed window sections and walls partly clad in stone at each end.

The stone is from the local Rattlebags quarry and is laid as squared, split-face rubble. Window margins, cills and lintels on the refectory block—built first—are cut from Rattlebags stone. Elsewhere, details have been altered to incorporate roughly faced precast concrete lintels and precast margins and cills. The concrete uses Rattlebags stone aggregate and mimics the appearance of the wall faces. Doors are timber and glazed replacements, changed around 2016, similar in style to those from the time of construction. Roofs are slated with plain stone skews.

The interior is simply detailed and largely contemporary with the mid-20th century date of construction. The white cloister corridors have polished slab granolithic stone flooring and recessed pointed-arch details that echo the window style and carved timber Stations of the Cross. Main rooms such as the small café, library and chapel feature timber floors with flat board timber ceilings and plain light fittings in mid-20th century style. The church doors come from Thurston Manor. Some choir stalls came from the abbey's Mother House at Roscrea, Ireland, and the benches and kneelers are from the Royal Navy dockyards at Rosyth, Fife. A small bespoke timber-clad organ matches the ceiling style.

The refectory is the largest interior space, with six exposed squared stone pillars to the side walls supporting a tall vaulted timber-clad roof. A patterned vinyl floor edged by a stone skirting covers the floor. By the timber east wall stands a cantilevered marble-based pulpit with a slender Festival-style timber and metal railing. A decorative carved stone relief depicting Christ breaking bread with the two disciples at Emmaus, by Anne Davidson, adorns the wall. The kitchens include a bread room with original bread store fittings. A basement corridor with service rooms runs under the refectory, containing rooms for printing, bookbinding and sewing. Further workshops and the laundry occupy the flat-roofed south range attached to the refectory.

A large irregular-plan open stair with metal and horizontal timber handrails is located in the large glazed entrance hall at the west corner entrance. Large communal wash areas feature cream terrazzo dado to the walls. The former oratory and library have been converted to form three en-suite infirmary bedrooms, as of 2016.

The interior of the garage and workshop block, seen in 2017, contains metalworking and woodworking workshops as well as garages and stores.